How To Become A Public Speaker: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Developing strong public speaking skills is a great way to discover more opportunities and potential clients by promoting your personal brand to an audience.

Whether you’re running a business or working with charities, learning how to become a public speaker and communicate effectively is a powerful tool.

To help you deliver great presentations, we’ve outlined the key points to consider to launch a profitable speaking career and engage with audience members.

What Is A Public Speaker?

A public speaker is someone who addresses a group of people, typically focusing on a specific topic of interest about which they are knowledgeable.

Public speakers cater to a wide variety of audiences and industries, from lecturing on education topics to providing entrepreneurs with deep insights into business.

They can work in both the public and private sectors, and speaking gigs can range from short presentations to lengthy events lasting multiple days.

Teachers and college professors, local and national government officials, and leading figures in the entertainment industry have all been involved in public speaking.

Since there are essentially no restrictions on what topics public speakers can cover, it’s a popular solopreneur business idea for all skill sets.

Public speaking is a widely practiced method for promoting new products and services, as well as charities and other non-profit entities.

While some people perform public speaking as a full-time job, others prefer to use it on an ad hoc basis or to supplement their primary income.

How Much Can You Earn Public Speaking?

Setting your fees for public speaking can be a challenge, particularly if you’re just starting out and don’t have previous experience in this field.

Determining how much to charge depends on various factors, from the nature of the event to your expertise on the topic at hand.

Newcomers often defer any speaking fee while they establish their reputation and credibility, using events as a means of professional promotion.

Some use speaking engagements to sell products and merchandise, deferring their fees in favor of earning money through direct sales to attendees.

The range for delivering a paid speaking gig can vary greatly depending on the event format and industry.

Here are some of the common fee ranges typically charged by public speakers for their events:

• $0 – $500. New speakers with little to no experience.
• $500 – $5,000. Speakers with some background in the field or those working in the education industry.
• $5,000 – $20,000. Corporate and business speakers with experience and reputation in their respective industries.
• $20,000 – $50,000. Professional authors, athletes, or minor celebrities such as social media influencers.
• $50,000+. A-list celebrities, sporting superstars, and high-ranking current or former politicians and corporate CEOs.

These ranges are also highly dependent on the potential value the speaking event will bring to the table, whether through sales or potential investment.

As such, speaking engagements can be a great side hustle for business leaders, as well as lucrative opportunities for industry insiders with unique insights.

How To Become A Public Speaker (Step-By-Step)

Public speaking can be a lucrative venture and open up new business opportunities, but knowing where to begin can be a challenge for those lacking experience.

Let’s break down how to become a public speaker in detail, from understanding your value proposition to mastering your speaking abilities to engage the audience.

Step 1: Understand Your Strengths

Whether you’re working as a business consultant or helping event organizers promote a charity, you should assess your core strengths and skills.

This begins with outlining your basic background information and credentials, covering your education level and other qualifications in your specific industry.

Once you’ve explored your core knowledge and abilities, you can use this information to help build a profile that can be passed on to event managers.

Your public speaking sales pitch should clearly articulate what sets you apart from the competition and how your experiences add value to the conversation.

It’s important to thoroughly research the landscape of your particular niche in order to ensure you’re offering something fresh and unique.

If you’re not passionate about the topic and invested in staying abreast of new trends, your career as a professional speaker is likely to fail.

Understanding your strengths also means assessing your current public speaking skills, level of charisma, and clarity of delivery.

If you’re adept at using humor to connect with other people or have a knack for motivating employees, these skills can be incorporated into your speaking career.

Step 2. Know Your Target Audience

Landing the best speaking opportunities requires careful research into the target audience in order to be able to control the room and the audience’s attention.

Whether you’re offering advice on creating digital products or delivering a speech to C-suite corporate leaders, you need to understand their reasons for attending.

While most speaking events feature a diverse selection of attendees, there are several steps you can take to help you adopt the most appropriate speaking style.

Inevitably, some attendees will align with your values and opinions, while others might strongly oppose what you have to say.

Fortunately, there are several ways you can analyze the audience to mitigate against the potential downsides and get the majority of the audience on your side.

• Research the event. If you’re speaking at a recurring event, such as an annual seminar, chances are you can discover archived speaking events that will show you the type of content past speakers have delivered. This research will also help you better understand the goals and core beliefs of the organization and keep your messaging on point.
• Greet people in advance. Interacting with the audience before you deliver your speech is another effective way to establish trust and win them over to your side. It can also gauge their level of understanding of the topic and the reasons why they’ve chosen to attend the event.
• Conduct audience surveys. Following on from the previous point is the process of conducting audience surveys to get additional information that can be useful when delivering your speech. By using short but carefully considered surveys to review in advance, you can adopt the most effective public speaking skills in your talk and reflect the values of the audience.

As your public speaking career develops over time, your grasp of the priorities and interests of the core audience will evolve and improve.

Step 3. Learn From Talented Public Speakers

There’s no shortage of reference material for speaking events, from the highest-paid engagements to dedicated industry conferences.

Investing time in researching these events will help you not only become a better speaker but also gain a deeper understanding of your chosen topic.

If you can attend relevant industry events related to your area of expertise, this will offer insights into how other speakers focus their energy.

It will also give you a clearer insight into how the audience’s attention is managed, which videos of speaking events often lack.

If you can’t attend a speaker’s presentation in person, there are plenty of great online resources you can use instead.

Some examples include:

• TED Talks. One of the most popular resources for online conferences and lectures, TED Talks covers a broad selection of subjects, from science to business thought leadership from industry professionals.
• Google Talks. Like TED Talks, Google Talks is notable for its diverse approach to conferences, with some of the smartest people in tech delivering deep insights into the latest trends.
• The Moth. If you’re more focused on delivering a casual or anecdotal presentation, The Moth’s laid-back approach to lectures through personal stories is a valuable research resource.
• Pecha Kucha. Like The Moth, Pecha Kucha features thousands of talks covering a broad spectrum of topics and has a thriving community of contributors who share their insights and techniques with members.

If you’re looking for a specific event, there are thousands of videos on YouTube you can access and analyze as part of your research.

Step 4. Perfect Your Presentation Style

Public speaking skills incorporate various factors that help to capture and maintain the audience’s attention and engage them throughout the event.

On a basic level, public speaking begins with mastering your voice and intonation, which can be improved through various breathing exercises.

One way to achieve this is to maintain a steady breathing pattern, which will keep stress levels at a minimum and ensure a smoother delivery of your speech.

This also helps you to speak at a consistent pace while also projecting your voice with clarity across large open spaces.

In addition to your vocal delivery, you should also pay attention to your body language, which plays a vital role in communicating your message clearly.

Nonverbal cues, facial expressions, and body position and movement all enhance the impact of spoken words.

Here are some aspects of body language you can address in order to improve your presentation style:

• Eye contact. Eye contact is an important public speaking technique for establishing a connection with the audience members and earning their attention and respect. A common method is to shift your eye contact from one audience member to another every few seconds, moving through the crowd in a Z formation.
• Power poses. Another commonly used body language technique professionals adopt is the power pose, which involves staring straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. This makes it easier to perform various hand gestures to accentuate phrases and imparts an aura of confidence.
• General movement. Moving around the stage once you start speaking is another skill that demonstrates a command of the space and strong leadership. While you should avoid pacing up and down and turning your back, general movement will lead to a more dynamic presentation.
• Hand gestures. Hand gestures are integral to neurolinguistic programming, which other speakers with extensive experience frequently adopt in their speeches. They can also help reduce anxiety and stress, allowing you to focus on delivering your speech with clarity and conviction.
• Controlling mannerisms. Most people have behavioral quirks that are unique to themselves, such as fidgeting with their hair or subconsciously playing with clothing and other accessories. By becoming aware of these habits, you can consciously work to avoid them so they don’t detract from your public speaking performance.

Honing these skills can be enhanced by practicing your speaking skills by delivering them in front of a full-length mirror or recording them on a camera to review.

You can also practice your speech in front of a friend or colleague and get direct feedback from them to fine-tune your overall delivery.

Professional public speaking courses are also available, which can help you improve your speaking skills and gain experience for future events.

Step 5. Create An Online Presence

Promoting your public speaking services requires building an online presence you can use to showcase your presentation skills and industry knowledge.

This means building a dedicated website to use for promotional purposes, as well as a strong social media presence to use for networking.

You don’t need any web development experience to get started, and a good website builder will allow you to do this in just a few hours.

Website builders use an intuitive drag-and-drop user interface, which makes it easy to add videos, photos, and contact forms.

You can also access a selection of visually appealing website templates with ready-made layouts tailored to your particular industry.

Once your website is live, you can promote it on various social media platforms to potential event organizers who are looking for people with your skills.

If you’re a public speaker working in the corporate world, LinkedIn should be your first port of call to connect with other industry professionals.

As your track record develops, you can update your website with additional videos that demonstrate your skills and expand your speaking business.

Step 6. Network With Relevant Industry Leaders

An essential component of any strategy for building a career is networking, and public speakers have several ways they can achieve this goal.

Attending events offers a distinct advantage that should be capitalized on whenever possible, such as using in-person interactions to build relationships.

This can include casual conversations with other attendees or lengthy discussions with industry professionals who are speaking at the event.

You can also build a strong network through your social media presence, sharing informative resources and engaging with responses in the comments.

If your website has a blog section, this can be a good way to showcase your particular insights and encourage ongoing conversations online.

It also pays to spend some time in dedicated online forums, as industry leaders often use them to engage in more in-depth conversations.

Strive to bring value to any conversation you have, sharing your own industry and networking tips to encourage reciprocity.

Likewise, demonstrating gratitude whenever someone provides you with a new connection or advice will go a long way to fostering long-term relationships.

This can be a simple “thank you” in person or a handwritten note or email expressing your appreciation and goodwill for their time and consideration.

Step 7. Prepare Your Material

Once you’ve landed a speaking gig, you’ll need to be fully prepared to ensure you deliver the best possible presentation for your audience.

This begins with the steps outlined above and a solid grasp of your experience and the expectations of the event’s organizers and the audience.

With this background established, it’s time to prepare the specific material for your speech, outlining the core topic and breaking it down into sections.

This outline can then be used to write relevant notes that you can draw on when you practice your speech before the event.

If you have a personal website, this can be a great resource for outlining your understanding of the topic in advance through related blog posts.

You can use this to detail a range of resources for reference, from interviews and academic papers to other online sources of information.

Try to aim for a larger collection of information than you think you’ll need since this will give you the luxury of selectively editing content for the best results.

You can also enhance the presentation by bringing a variety of visual aids to the event that highlight your points with facts and figures.

Such visual aids include:

• Graphs and charts. These are ideal for presenting raw data and showing chronological trends that support your speech.
• Photographs and illustrations. If you’re telling a personal anecdote, using photographs or illustrations will help the audience connect with your story.
• Amusing cartoons and memes. For a more light-hearted presentation, projecting a meme or cartoon will help the audience relax and feel more comfortable with your presence.
• Physical objects. Just as comedians and other performers often use physical props in their shows, you can adopt this tactic to bring more visual interest to a presentation.

While incorporating a PowerPoint-style presentation into your speaking event isn’t always appropriate, visual aids certainly have a time and place.

Step 8. Start With Free Speaking Engagements

Breaking into the world of public speaking can be a challenge, and speaking for free is a good way to build experience and establish a reputation.

Speaking for free will help you overcome any fears of public speaking, master a speaking style, and learn how to interact with the audience.

It will also help you to broaden your understanding of what the audience expects so you can fine-tune the content of your presentations.

Hosting free speaking events is also a fundamental aspect of networking and negotiation, forging connections with event planners and industry insiders.

Provided your speeches are well received by the audience, they can be easily leveraged to create paid engagements in the future.

Free speaking engagements are also an effective way to promote your personal brand and bring the audience’s attention to your products or services.

If you’re using the event for this purpose, make sure you check with the host beforehand and have their permission to use your speech to drive sales.

Step 9. Gather Testimonials & Feedback

Feedback and audience testimonials are powerful tools when it comes to promoting your public speaking business to potential clients.

You can share them on your social media pages, such as LinkedIn, and on the press page of your professional website.

Once you’ve finished a speaking event, you should aim to gather direct, in-person feedback as soon as you can while the event is fresh in their memories.

You can do this informally through conversations or by writing up surveys and questionnaires to hand out to attendees to complete before they leave the venue.

In addition to gathering feedback from the audience members, you should also solicit feedback from the event organizers and other clients.

Consider including this testimonial request along with a thank you note and offer to help promote their organization through your website.

If you can obtain video or audio testimonials, share them on your business website and use them when reaching out to potential clients.

Step 10. Increase Your Speaking Fees

Last but by no means least, when developing a public speaking career, you should review and update your pricing regularly.

Inevitably, you’ll become tired of speaking for free and will need to implement a strategy that allows you to increase your prices in line with your experience.

Public speaking is a great scalable business, so understanding your market value will help you to charge the best possible rates for your skills.

Consider the following factors when increasing your speaking fees:

• Create a model of your ideal client and use this to tailor your outreach to optimize the number of gigs you can land.
• Position yourself as an authority on a niche subject that brings high value to industry professionals through credibility and expertise.
• Negotiate your rates with event planners confidently, with careful consideration for any expenses related to travel, accommodation, and other resources.
• Strive to deliver above and beyond your initial pitch, upselling your skills to not only meet your client’s goals but also offer additional value.
• Showcase your testimonials with pride, using these as social proof and positive word of mouth to verify your value as a public speaker.

You can also keep on top of what speaking fees others in your field of expertise are charging to ensure your rates remain competitive.

Summary

Developing public speaking skills presents a huge opportunity for self-promotion and building a successful business through industry connections.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can improve the techniques necessary to deliver insightful and engaging speeches on your chosen topic.

The more experience you gain, the more confident and self-assured your speaking engagements will become, improving your career prospects.